Sodium polyacrylate is used to keep diapers dry and soil moist during droughts. It can absorb 800 to 1000 times its weight in water! When water is added to the polymer, a hydrogen-bonded network forms, causing the mixture to solidify. The network can be broken by simply adding salt, causing the solution to turn back into a liquid.
Superabsorbant Polymer
Sodium polyacrylate is used to keep diapers dry and soil moist during droughts. It can absorb 800 to 1000 times its weight in water! When water is added to the polymer, a hydrogen-bonded network forms, causing the mixture to solidify. The network can be broken by simply adding salt, causing the solution to turn back into a liquid.
Here is a little more info and a place to order the polymer (much cheaper than Aldrich and easier than cutting out of diapers):
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/1448
This polymer is stored in the GK12 storage room.